- NBA Championships: 0
- Last NBA Championship: N/A
- Claim to Fame: The Grizzlies were one of two Canadian expansion franchises when they entered the NBA with the Raptors in 1995.
- Claim to Shame: The Grizzlies won just eight games during 1999’s strike-shortened season.
12 NBA teams have yet to win a championship and, unfortunately for Grizzlies fans, Memphis is one of them.
This hard luck franchise began its existence in Vancouver in 1995, but struggled badly out of the gates, averaging just 16.8 wins over its first six seasons. The team’s poor performance led to growing disinterest among the city’s fanbase and the franchise fled British Columbia in 2001 and relocated to Memphis.
The move did wonders for the team, and the Grizzlies posted their first 50-win season just three years later. They also enjoyed a string of playoff appearances thanks to the emergence of Pau Gasol, who was named Rookie of the Year in 2002 and led the Grizzlies in scoring every season from 2002 until he was traded in 2008.
Gasol’s departure ushered in a dark period for the Grizzlies, but the team found an unlikely savior in his younger brother, Marc, who was acquired in the trade that sent Pau to the Lakers. Marc Gasol has averaged 15.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game in his 10 seasons in Bluff City and was a key component of the “Grit and Grind” teams that reached the playoffs seven straight times from 2011-17.
The last remnants of those teams were finally moved last season as Marc went to Toronto at the deadline and won a title, while Conley was traded in the offseason and will get a chance to contend with the Utah Jazz this season.
Firmly in rebuild mode, the Grizz will hand the keys over to #2 overall pick Ja Morant, who’s already flashed star potential in the preseason, and looks like the perfect running mate for Jaren Jackson Jr.
